Northumbrian Water sustainability score: 42/100
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Northumbrian Water Limited supplies water and sewerage services in North East England and, as Essex & Suffolk Water, water in Essex and Suffolk. It is privately owned, was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Durham.
More about Northumbrian Water
Its annual report for the year to 31 March 2026 reports revenue of £1,182.0m and an average of 3,844 employees. It is regulated by Ofwat and the Environment Agency.
Founded 1989Head office Durham, United KingdomStaff ~3,844Revenue £1,182.0M (FY2025/26, year to 31 March 2026)Website ↗
Northumbrian Water's net market-based operational emissions fell from 68.6 to 15.9 ktCO2e between 2019/20 and 2024/25, relying on renewable electricity and gas certificates, while gross location-based emissions moved from 163.3 to 152.6 kt. Natural gas use remains above its 2019/20 baseline. Its pollution incident rate was 39 per 10,000 km of sewer, rated red, and the Environment Agency rated it 2 stars for 2024. In June 2025 it agreed a £15.7m Ofwat enforcement package.
Northumbrian Water scores 42/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified October 2026.
That places Northumbrian Water joint 362nd of 1,023 companies scored, and 6th of 11 in Water & Sewerage.
What is Northumbrian Water doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Transparency & Accountability and Carbon Footprint: Operations (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Emissions Trajectory (2/10, 3/10).
Where Northumbrian Water lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- Its effect on waterMonitor its water use and take measures to reduce it.
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow its emissions are falling.
- Its climate targetsSet specific targets with dates.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain5/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling3/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water2/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets3/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports8/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
- Its record on controversies4/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Northumbrian Water's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Northumbrian Water's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
45% of them were published by Northumbrian Water itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“reported process emissions significantly (from 27ktCO2e to 126kTCO2e despite no significant changes on the ground)”
“Our emissions have been externally assured in accordance with ISO 14064-1, to ensure validity and transparency.”
“Of these 609 ktCO2e, the five largest categories being Capital/ Construction (35%), wastewater process emissions (21%), purchased goods and services (16%)”
“100 GWh per year”
“We own approximately 2,160 ha of land that has the conservation designation of SSSI.”
“97.2% numeric discharge permit compliance”
“In August 2024, Ofwat indicated Northumbrian would pay a £17m penalty (5% of relevant turnover)”
“The Group is ultimately owned by a consortium of long-term infrastructure investors, including companies within the CK Hutchison group and KKR.”
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How does Northumbrian Water compare with other water & sewerage companies?
Where Northumbrian Water sits among water & sewerage peers.
Among the 11 major water & sewerage brands we've scored, Northumbrian Water sits 6th of 11.
Who scores higher in Water & Sewerage?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Northumbrian Water.
United Utilities' 2025/26 market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 539,041 tCO2e, including 239,498 tCO2e added by a 2026 industry update to process-emission factors.
See the breakdown →Scottish Water's operational emissions, audited to ISO 14064-1, fell from 462,000 tCO2e in 2006/07 to 220,000 tCO2e in 2024/25, and have been roughly flat for three years.
See the breakdown →Wessex Water reports operational and supply-chain emissions, including capital carbon.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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